1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns an apparatus for winding and tightening a band clip around a wiring harness or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Plastic ties including a band and a band receiving head are known and have long been used for tying cables, to form wiring harnesses or the like. Those prior art ties also were used to fix a wiring harness to a structural component of a body of, for instance, a motor vehicle. However, in recent years, there has arisen a need to provide such ties that easily can be inserted and locked by means of a clip or clipping head which can be inserted in an appropriate hole or recess in, for instance, a part of the body of a motor vehicle. Such ties are called band clips and can be classified into two types. One type of prior art band clip is such that the clipping direction and the direction in which a band receiving portion receives a band are substantially perpendicular to each other. Such a band clip is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,261. This known band clip is substantially formed by arranging a clipping portion at a right angle to the band receiving portion. Tools as disclosed in EP-A-0 390 434 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,385 may be used for winding and tightening such band clips.
The other type of band clip is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,452. Such a band clip, as also illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the present application, substantially comprises a band portion 4 and a clipping head 2 which is provided with a band receiving portion 3 for receiving a tip 6 of the band portion 4. This second type of band clip is distinguished from the aforementioned type by the fact that the clipping direction or the direction in which the clipping head 2 is inserted in a suitable opening or recess is substantially parallel to the receiving direction of the band receiving portion 3. In particular, the band portion 4 is substantially aligned with the clipping head 2 as illustrated in FIG. 2.
According to an actual practice, the above-mentioned band clips are manually wound around a wiring harness, a cable or the like and then manually tightened. Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus to at least semi-automatically wind and tighten a band clip around a wiring harness or the like, in particular, a band clip of the kind as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in which the clipping direction and the receiving direction of a band receiving portion are substantially parallel to each other.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for winding and tightening a band clip around a wiring harness in such a manner that at least partial automation is possible, thus allowing more regular and efficient use of such band clips.